1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a technique used for managing power consumption of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there is a growing demand for reducing emissions of greenhouse gas such as carbon dioxide. Against such a background, reduction of the amount of power consumption of image forming apparatuses such as printers and multifunction peripherals is also required. Additionally, visualization of the power consumption when the image forming apparatuses are being used is also required as it helps the user recognize the amount of power which is used.
According to a technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-056728, power used by each user is calculated by multiplying the time the user uses the image forming apparatus in each mode by the power consumption of the apparatus corresponding to the mode. Thus, the power used by each user regarding the image forming apparatus may be determined.
However, according to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-056728, the power used by each user is calculated by multiplying the time of each mode of the image forming apparatus the user uses by the power consumption of the apparatus in each mode. Thus, the power consumption considering detailed states of the image forming apparatus may not be obtained.
For example, power consumption of the image forming apparatus due to rotation of a drum or heating of a fixing unit, or when a finisher function such as a stapling function or a punching function is used when a job is executed is not calculated.